1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a drinking trough for animals, in particular poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, chicks or the like, with at least one drinking valve and a water-collecting bowl assigned to the at least one drinking valve. Furthermore, the invention relates to a water-collecting bowl for a drinking trough for animals with a dish part composed of plastic that has at least one cup-like depression for accommodating a store of liquid.
2. Related Art
Drinking troughs are employed to provide animals, in particular poultry, such as chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks as well as their chicks with the water they require. Such drinking troughs have at least one drinking valve which is assigned a water-collecting bowl. In the case of so-called linear drinkers, a plurality of drinking valves are arranged at regular intervals along an elongate water supply line, with each drinking valve being assigned a water-collecting bowl. Water discharged by the drinking valve that is not immediately drunk by the animals accumulates in the water-collecting bowl.
The water-collecting bowls are subject to only relatively minor mechanical loads. For that reason they are composed of a simple, inexpensive thermoplastic material, such as polypropylene.
Particularly in respect of hygienic considerations, it is necessary to clean each drinking trough at certain time intervals. Above all, the drinking troughs must be cleaned whenever there is a change of housing, for example when older animals are replaced by younger animals. Cleaning is in part carried out with cleaning agents which, particularly when a residual amount of cleaning fluid containing such cleaning agents remains in the water-collecting bowl, leads to a softening of the plastic of the water-collecting bowl. When the poultry then peck at the water-collecting bowl with their beaks, this results in permanent damages to the water-collecting bowl, in particular to a dish-shaped depression of same in which the liquid accumulates. In many cases, holes are pecked in the water-collecting bowl, thus rendering it unusable.